Last night saw Echo and the Bunnymen arrive to Dublin’s 3Olympia for their show Celebrating 40 years of magical songs. The stage backlit and set in a blanket of thick smoke, and the band take to the stage, opening the night with Going Up / Show of Strength. Ian asks at this point what time do the pubs close, before the band launch into All That Jazz / Flowers – all the time the crowd listening intently and barely(!) a mobile phone in sight.
Then its the turn of Bring on the Dancing Horses, to the crowds delight, who sing along word for word (which was to happen later in the night with the other Bunneymen classics). After dancing horses we got Over the Wall / All My Colours, the classic Seven Seas and Bedbugs and Ballyhoo before Ian introduced a new song Brussels Is Haunted.
Overall Ian didn’t really have much to say between songs as they as they played through their collection of hits. It was then the turn of Villiers Terrace, combined with the covers Roadhouse Blues (The Doors) / The Jean Genie ( David Bowie) followed by Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed).
Finishing out the set were Never Stop and The Cutter at the end of which the band waited respectfully till Ian and left the stage before doing so themselves leaving the stage in a blaze of red lights. First up in the first of 3 encores was Lips Like Sugar, extended with another unknown song – in the middle of it again Ian leaves the stage first and this time the band return to play the mid 80s new wave anthem The Killing Moon, which ends and see’s Ian leave the stage first again. People start to leave thinking that must be the end but no! after a few minutes the band arrive back out and start into Ocean Rain and there’s a scurry of people back into the room.
Now its the end and we all head out into what has become a cold February but everyone is happy as all the hits were played and more.
